Local Textile History
Two of the three books described below are of great value to anyone with an interest in Keighley’s industrial history. The third, of interest to anyone with a love of the Yorkshire Dales, also touches on the impact of Keighley men and women on Yorkshire’s industrial past.
John Hodgson’s Textile Manufacture in Keighley
A facsimile reprint of the 1879 edition with a new introduction and index by industrial historians Gillian Cookson and George Ingle.
Publisher – Shaun Tyas
This rare classic about the industrial history of Keighley was written by John Hodgson in 1879. He collected information from all the leading mill owners in the town and was able to describe in detail the growth of the local textile industry. In addition he charted the development of the textile machinery firms and the rise of the machine tool manufacturers.
This book will be of interest to all those who worked for the old Keighley firms, to local historians and to anyone who wants to know how Keighley grew to be one of the most important towns in Yorkshire for textiles and machinery.
The Keighley families which gave their names to their mills and were responsible for the growth of industry and most other activities in Keighley are all in this book. One hundred years of industrial and social history are here. From the building of the first cotton mill in Yorkshire in 1780 to the building of Dalton Mill, with one of the largest steam engines in the world, Hodgson recorded it all. He also commented on the lives of individuals and his anecdotes give substance to the day-to-day conduct of business amongst rival mill-owners.
Hardback. 288 pages. Price - £19.95 Including postage. Details below.
Marriner’s Yarns
A history of R V Marriner Ltd of Greengate Mills by George Ingle
Publisher – Carnegie Publishing Ltd
The firm of Marriner’s was one of Keighley’s most important businesses. The company and family played a significant role in the development of both the textile industry and the town, producing a range of worsted yarns for home and foreign markets. This book traces the story of the mill, firm and family for over 200 years. It also includes stories from people who worked at the mill together with a section on Marriner’s Brass Band which became Keighley Town Band.
Greengate Mill was built in 1784 at the height of the cotton spinning boom when cotton mills were built throughout Yorkshire. The first chapters deal with the start of the textile industry in Keighley and the early partnerships at Greengate Mill. The mill came fully into the hands of the Marriner family in 1817 when they changed it over to spinning worsted. The firm prospered and built a new mill with a steam engine in 1837. At the same time they stopped hand-loom weaving and concentrated on worsted spinning. Their range of yarns increased and soon they were selling yarn across the Continent as well as to the Midlands’ knitting trade and Bradford merchants. Further expansion took place until the mill was one of the largest in Keighley. However, in 1888 two brothers quarrelled and split the firm. One part survived and became well known for its hand-knitting yarns after the Second World War.
Paperback. 192 pages. Price £5.00 including postage. Details below.
Yorkshire Dales Textile Mills
A history of over 70 textile mills in the Yorkshire Dales
Publisher – Royd Press
The thousands of people who visit the Dales today are often unaware that this beautiful area used to support a thriving textile industry, and that large mills, employing considerable workforces, especially children, stood in popular valleys like Malhamdale and Wharfedale. This new book shows how local cottage industries in the Dales such as hand-spinning, weaving and knitting were superseded by over seventy water powered mills, built in most Dales towns and villages. These mills are described from their foundation to their demise. Only one is still in production.
Sites covered include the areas round Skipton, Settle and Sedbergh, Wharfedale and Littondale, together with the Washburn Valley, Wensleydale and Swaledale. Inflrmation about the firms, child labour, and hand-loom weavers’ riots is included as well as details of the buildings, the machinery in them and their power sources.
Paperback. 191 pages. Price £10.00 including postage. Details below.
To order any of these books put your name and address on a piece of paper together with the title of the book and the cost. Enclose a cheque for the right amount and post to – Dr George Ingle, 5 South Parade, Ilkley LS29 9AW.
I will send the book/s to you as soon as possible, but please allow 28 days in case of holidays.